[Arizona-students] Crossing the Street for the Blind?

Wed Nov 12 03:13:49 UTC 2008

Hi all,

Allison, I agree with the  points that you raise here. Additionally,
if you look closely at what the technology would  actually do, it
doesn't protect us from quiet cars at all. The technology is only
activated when the user veers  outside the crosswalk, so if you're
going straight across the street and a hybrid car turns  in front of
you  or runs the red  light, all the GPS on  earth isn't going to
protect you. Furthermore, the drivers  who are the  biggest risk for
us are those  who disobey the traffic lights, so just turning  all the
lights red will only protect us from the lawful drivers--who will
probably also pay enough attention to see you  veer  toward them and
stop!

As someone who has survived many  a crooked street crossing over the
years,  I also  have major  concerns about this device being more  of
a distracting, frightening hindrance than a lifesaver. When I'm trying
to cross a busy  street with potential turning traffic, the last thing
I need to hear is some gadget jabbering directions in my ear. In fact,
usually if  I do veer it's because some extraneous noise is
distracting me or making me nervous. Hearing  an "audible warning"
would  probably just cause  me to become more disoriented instead of
enabling me to keep my ears focused on parallel and standing traffic,
which is the best way to straighten out. Furthermore, by changing the
traffic cycle  the device would interfere with these essential traffic
cues that blind pedestrians need to correct any veering and keep
oriented once they reach the opposite side of the street.

So, as someone who has been blind for 23 years I have serious doubts
that the creators of this device have  any idea what techniques blind
pedestrians actually use to cross the  street. Unlike some
Federationists, I am not opposed to  audible signals because I know
there  are some intersections where it is legitimately hard to
identify the green  light just by listening. After all,  if sighted
people get to see  a flashing "Walk" sign I see no reason why this
shouldn't be accessible in some unobtrusive audio  form as well. But
once I'm actually in the street, I don't want any electronic voices
talking to me and  I most certainly don't need something to mess with
the surrounding traffic flow.

Cheers
Arielle

On 11/12/08, Allison (NFB of Arizona) <nfbarizona at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>> This is likely an unpopular opinion, but I do find this technology
>> potentially helpful.  I wouldn't have always felt this way, but with all
>> the quiet cars out there, and no noise requirement laws in sight, I think
>> that we do need to do something to help blind people cross streets.
>> Moreover, even if quiet car legeslation is finally passed, what will
>> happen to all the quiet cars already out there?  I doubt anyone will
>> require those drivers to discard their cars obtained before the new law
>> implimentation.
>>
>> That said, I'm not sure whether the technology in the below article is the
>>
>> solution.  I don't know.
>>
>> What I find concerning is the underlying belief system about blindness
>> that may have caused this research
>> to be started.  These types of technology are often created because
>> someone
>> (often but not always someone sighted) assumes that something will be
>> abnormally dangerous for a blind person.  Usually these assumptions are
>> based on misconceptions about blindness and not the realities.
>>
>> Here's a quote from the below piece that stood out for me.
>> "Blind pedestrians are the ones most at risk at intersections."
>>
>> Are we really?  Who actually said this?  Is it documented somewhere?  I
>> think
>> that a lot of blind folks are especially careful and are not necessarily
>> more at risk than other pedestrians.  I'd be more worried about the
>> dangers
>> associated with an 8-year-old crossing the street, or someone intoxicated,
>> or a slower elderly person... there are lots of folks who likely have
>> more safety risks than the blind.
>>
>> Also, I worry that this technology will prove incredibly expensive for
>> everyone involved.  The article says that it's cheaper than current audio
>> signal technology, but with so many of the old audio signals in place,
>> will it really
>> be cost effective?  Also, the technology is linked to a cell phone which
>> makes
>> its benefits limited to those folks who actually have cell phones.  It's
>> true that most people do have mobile phones, but there are still some
>> folks who can't afford one.  I also imagine that this traffic software
>> will be expensive too.  And if this sort of technology truly does prove
>> effective, I don't think
>> something like traffic safety should be classist, which this very well
>> could
>> become.
>>
>> Thanks for sharing this info, Arielle.  I'm curious to learn what others
>> think.
>>
>> JMO,
>> Allison
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Arielle Silverman" <arielle71 at gmail.com>
>> To: "Arizona Association of Blind Students List"
>> <arizona-students at nfbnet.org>; <cabs at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 3:21 PM
>> Subject: [Arizona-students] Crossing the Street for the Blind?
>>
>>
>> Those crazy engineers  can come up with the wackiest  ideas...
>>
>> For the 21.2 million Americans who suffer from vision loss,
>> crossing the
>> street can be a stressful and potentially dangerous proposition.
>> Thanks
>> to engineers at the University of Idaho, many visually impaired
>> individuals soon may have a greatly reduced risk thanks to a tool
>> already in their pockets - their cell phone.
>>
>> The statistics for vision loss, provided by the American
>> Foundation for
>> the Blind, include anyone reporting difficulty seeing, even while
>> wearing glasses or contact lenses. No matter the level of visual
>> impairment, many conditions - including visual noise, walking at
>> night
>> and irregular intersections - can result in missing a crosswalk.
>>
>> Regardless of conditions, the new system being developed in
>> Moscow,
>> Idaho, will make intersections safer and easier to navigate.
>>
>> "Minute for minute on the road, any pedestrian is 150 percent
>> more
>> likely to
>>
>> be injured by a car than somebody driving one," said Richard
>> Wall,
>> professor
>>
>> of electrical and computer engineering. "But it is pretty
>> apparent that
>> the
>>
>> blind pedestrians are the ones most at risk at intersections.b
>>
>> The new technology utilizes features already available in many
>> cellular
>>
>> phones, including communications, Global Positioning Satellite
>> (GPS)
>>
>> functions and magnetic compasses to help visually impaired
>> pedestrians.
>>
>> Specialized software allows these pedestrians to activate the
>> crossing
>>
>> signal remotely without having to locate the physical button.
>>
>> Then, the GPS system monitors the position and direction of
>> travel while
>> crossing. As long as the crosser stays within the crosswalk,
>> nothing
>> happens. But stray outside the lines, and an audible warning
>> activates
>> alerting the pedestrian of their danger. It then provides
>> directions on
>> how to get back within the safety zone. Should the walker somehow
>> end up
>> in the middle of the intersection, the system automatically would
>> turn
>> every light red, stopping traffic and averting a potential
>> disaster.
>>
>> "It's true that this would disrupt the timing of the signal
>> patterns
>> when it gets activated," said Wall. "But we would much rather
>> disrupt
>> them for a few seconds than for a half hour while an ambulance
>> assists a
>> traffic victim."
>>
>> To ensure people don't trigger the alarm just for fun, only those
>> who
>> need the help would be able to acquire the necessary software.
>>
>> The system requires more than software, however. It also requires
>> the
>> installation of new hardware in thousands of lights across the
>> country.
>> Luckily, Wall and his team have found a solution that not only is
>> cost
>> effective, it simplifies the existing system.
>>
>> Many crosswalks currently have handicapped-Many crosswalks curre
>> provide
>> help such as audio tones indicating when it is safe to cross.
>> However,
>> the box that controls the intersection contains a massive amount
>> of
>> wiring. This is necessary to connect each actuator with each
>> signal so
>> at any given time, the control box knows each state.
>>
>> Wall's new system simplifies each box to only two wires, both
>> already
>> required to power the signals. It uses a technology called
>> Ethernet over
>> power line, which allows information to be broadcast over power
>> lines.
>>
>> The future is clear for Wall and his research team. They have
>> established dates to deliver the engineering and expect field
>> trials to
>> commence in June. They are building prototypes supported by funds
>> from
>> the University Transportation Centers program, Idaho's Higher
>> Education
>> Research Council and their commercial partner, Campbell Company,
>> who
>> currently makes the accessible pedestrian signals that chirp and
>> talk
>> for the handicapped.
>>
>> "The signals we're building are more than prototypes. These
>> devices
>> actually can go into the field and work today," said Wall. "We're
>> using
>> existing infrastructure and communicating intelligence over it.
>> It's
>> cost effective, it simplifies the connection to two wires and it
>> can be
>> immediately installed in all the existing crosswalks in the
>> country."
>>
>> If you would like more information, or to speak with the people
>> involved, please let me know.
>>
>> Ken Kingery
>>
>> Science/Research Writer
>>
>> University of Idaho
>>
>> Office: 208-885-9156
>>
>> Cell: 614-570-3942
>>
>> --~--~--------~--~-----~--~-----~--~-----~--~-----~--
>>
>>
>
>
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